(LifeSiteNews) — America magazine writer Michael O’Loughlin says he has “complicated feelings” about the Los Angeles Dodgers honoring a blasphemous drag group called the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.”
“Some members of the group use lewd and crude comedy in their performances, as their Catholic detractors have highlighted this week,” O’Loughlin, a homosexual, wrote in the dissident Catholic publication. “But the group also raises money for charitable causes and seeks to bring visibility to a community often under siege,” referring to homosexuals and gender-confused persons.
One of his only sources of unease is that the group mocks women, which O’Loughlin claims is not supported within the Catholic Church. “What causes me some unease about the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, however, especially at this particular moment, is that their costumes mock women who wield relatively little power, especially in the church,” he wrote. “These women are often responsible for creating some of the most L.G.B.T.-affirming spaces in an institution that can regularly feel unwelcoming to the community.”
It’s really not “complicated” at all, and the same arguments he uses to defend the group have been used to defend gangs and other organized crime groups.
There are several flaws with his argument.
Let’s begin by noting that some of the work they do is hardly a corporal work of mercy, such as “queer art” or “support [for] LGBTQ and trans youth,” as one member told Religion News Service.
Grant recipients, as listed on the group’s website, include a tarot card “magic” shop, “sacred spaces for Queer and Two Spirit people,” and an organization that “provides education, gender affirming clothing and resources to transgender youth and young adults. This grant goes to purchase chest binders and clothing for California Students.”
But let’s say that this group did amazing work feeding the homeless or collecting money to give to women in domestic violence situations, works that we all could agree are good.
Their blasphemous and offensive performances and entire premise, mocking religious sisters and the Catholic faith, would wipe away any perceived good they do. There are plenty of groups, such as pro-life organizations, St. Vincent de Paul, Knights of Columbus, and others, that do care for the marginalized and the neediest among us. Yet none of them find the need to cross-dress and mock the Catholic faith.
In fact, the arguments used by O’Loughlin have been used before. The Mafia gave out food to Italians during the beginning of COVID lockdowns, The Guardian reported. The Mexican drug cartels also helped the needy.
Italian-American mobster Al Capone “ran a soup kitchen,” according to the History Channel. None of that makes up for murder and other crimes perpetrated by these organizations and individuals.
Similarly, the blasphemy from the group cannot be undone by any occasionally positive work it might possibly do. CatholicVote has documented different ways the group spreads hatred of Catholics, including desecration of the Eucharist and mocking the Virgin Mary.
READ: Catholic League documents horrific history of blasphemous drag ‘nuns’ honored by LA Dodgers
If the drag members want to actually do good works and bring about the Kingdom of God, they would. They would stop cross-dressing, they would stop promoting the LGBT agenda, and they would stop mocking the faith. O’Loughlin should outright condemn the group without exception. These individuals do not respect the Catholic Mass, the Sacraments, Christ, or the Virgin Mary. There is nothing “complicated” about a group that so heinously disregards our faith in the name of grotesque, depraved, and narcissistic performance.
